Pediatric Malignancies and Anesthesia in Out-of-OR Locations

Guideline for Children With Cancer Receiving General Anesthesia for Procedures and Imaging

“…Pediatric patients with oncologic diseases face unique challenges due to their underlying disease, toxic side effects of chemotherapy and radiation therapy, and infectious complications that must be taken into account before anesthesia administration. While the literature reports the unique needs of these patients requiring anesthesia and outlines potential complications due to underlying oncologic disease and associated complications or prior chemotherapy,2–9 currently no specific, uniform guidelines exist to prepare this pediatric population for general anesthesia and the accompanying procedures. This manuscript outlines the expert consensus guideline based on a review of the literature, summary of findings of the literature review, discussion of recommendations drawn from the literature, and identification of recommendations that relate to mitigation of complications developed at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) to safely prepare pediatric patients with oncologic diseases and those undergoing HSCT for general anesthesia.…”